MUSIC

Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of an arts event that rocked a nation grappling with racial segregation. On April 9, 1939--Easter Sunday--black contralto Marian Anderson sang at the Lincoln Memorial after she was refused use of Constitution Hall. An internationally renowned opera singer, Anderson had performed in Europe, the Soviet Union, South American and across the United States, including a White House show for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But the Daughters of the American Revolution, which owned Constitution Hall, banned Anderson from performing in the auditorium. Eleanor Roosevelt, a member of the DAR, resigned to protest Anderson’s exclusion. At the Lincoln Memorial, Anderson sang the “Star-Spangled Banner,” among other pieces, before a crowd of about 10,000 people. Anderson, 87, lives in Danbury, Conn.